Vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus

ABSTRACT

Vacuum drying and stoppering chamber with elevator shelves for sealing and capping bottles, the shelf spacing being infinitely adjustable to accommodate bottles of various sizes with maximum efficiency.

llnite tates atem enshaw 51 June 13, 1972 [54] VACUUM DRYING AND STOPPERING APPARATUS [72] Inventor: Charles Edward Henshaw, Delran, N .J

[73] Assignee: Pennwalt Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa.

[22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 113,182

52 U.S.Cl ..s3/102 51 Int.Cl ..B65b3l/02 [58] FieldofSearch ..53/l01, 102

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,792,678 5/1957 Baldwin et al. ..53/ l 01 3,537,233 11/1970 Costello et a]. ..53/102 X Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Attorney-Carl A. Hechmer, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT Vacuum drying and stoppering chamber with elevator shelves for sealing and capping bottles, the shelf spacing being infinitely adjustable to accommodate bottles of various sizes with maximum efiiciency.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUHIB I972 3,668,819

lNVE/VTOR CHARLES E. HENSHAW 26a M I /6.4

ATTORNEY VACUUM DRYING AND STOPPERING APPARATUS This invention relates to a process and apparatus for drying materials, such as biologicals, in vacuo and stoppering bottles containing the material with caps while still under vacuum.

In drying apparatus of the foregoing type, a series of vertically movable shelves are supported in vertically spaced disposition within a vacuum drying chamber, each of the shelves holding a plurality of containers with the material to be dried therebetween. Means are provided to move the shelves toward each other such that the containers with caps loosely retained in the mouths thereof become stoppered. Thereafter, the shelves are retracted to their initial position for insertion of new containers holding material to be subjected to vacuum drying and sealing.

Prior stoppering apparatus suffered from the inability to accommodate for different sized containers because the initial positions of the shelves were fixed. Although in some instances it was possible to vary the shelf spacing to some degree, none of the prior art systems permitted individual adjustment of each shelf such that the spacing between adjacent shelves was infinitely adjustable.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus which will accommodate capping of containers of various sizes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus-in which the initial positions of each of the elevating shelves supported therein are infinitely adjustable.

Another object is to provide practically complete accessibility to the interior of the chamber for cleaning where shelves are fully retracted in the up" position.

Other objects of this invention are to provide an improved device of the character described which is easily and economically produced, sturdy in construction and both highly efficient and effective in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, and partly broken away, of a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus comprising a cabinet, generally designated as A, a plurality of vertically movable shelves, generally designated as B, and a drive C for drawing the lowermost shelf Bl upwardly to effect capping of containers D therebetween.

The cabinet A is generally conventional and includes a substantially rectangular insulated housing 12 to the front of which is hinged a door 14. A suitable latch is utilized to secure the door in hermetically sealed disposition against the housing, and one or more porthole-type windows 16 permit observation of the interior of the cabinet A when the door is closed. A conduit 18 couples the interior of the housing 12 with a vacuum pump (not shown) to permit evacuation of the cabinet.

The shelves B each constitutes a flat plate 20 of generally rectangular configuration and having four symmetrically disposed tongues 22 affixed to and outwardly extending from the sides thereof. In addition, each of the plates 20, except the lowermost shelf B1, has four L-shaped foot members 24 affixed to the lateral edges adjacent the tongues 22. It is to be observed that the feet 24 are sequentially retracted in position as the level ascends in order to avoid interference with keeper fingers 26 adjustably mounted on posts E during shelf elevation. It is also to be noted that the lengths of the keeper fingers 26 progressively decrease as the level increases.

Each of the posts E comprises a channel shaped member 28 which is affixed securely to the cabinet frame 30. The tongues 22 of the plates 20 are slidably received in and are guided by the recess within the guide channel members 28. The channel members 28 also have a longitudinal slot 32 which extends almost from end to end. The channel itself is milled to receive the squared off head of each of a plurality of bolts 34 which pass through corresponding apertures 36 in the keeper fingers 26 and thence through a longitudinal slot 38 disposed in clamping strip 40. The shelf keeper fingers 26 are held in position by the frictional effect of clamping strip 40 when the nuts 35 are threadedly tightened on the respective bolts 34. Since the heads of the bolts 34 are flattened at their edges and slidably restrained within the guide channel 28, the need for double wrench operation is eliminated. In order to prevent rotation of the keeper fingers 26, they are of T-shaped configuration, the central portion being apertured to receive the bolt 34 and the cap 26a abutting against the side of the guide channel 26 and the edge of the clamping strip 40.

The lowermost shelf BI is suspended upon four downwardly depending rods 42 which carry at their lower extremities transversely extending interconnecting angle members 44. The upper portions of the rods 42 pass through seals 46 in the roof of the cabinet A, and the front and back pairs of rods are coupled to cross beams 48. The cross beams 48 are secured at each end upon pads 50. The pads 50 are mounted upon screws 52 which are in intermeshing engagement with transverse drive worms 54 oriented at right angles thereto. Each of the drive junctions of the worms 54 and the screws 52 is enclosed in a corresponding casing 56, the lower ends of the screws being enclosed within grease wells 58 to insure adequate lubrication of the right angle drives. The intermediate portions of the worms 54 are interconnected by jack shafts 60.

The main drive system C for the elevating mechanism comprises a reversible drive motor 62 whose shaft 64 is coupled to a pair of right angle bevel gear drives 66 and 68. The drive 66 includes a bevel gear 68 mounted on shaft 64 and in intermeshing engagement with bevel gear 70 whose shaft 72 is coupled to the rear set of drives 56. Drive 68 is interconnected to drive 66 via interconnecting shaft 74 and turns the front set of right angle worm drives 56 through shaft 78. Thus, rotation of the motor 62 in one direction will cause the lower shelf B1 to rise whereas rotation of the motor in the opposite direction causes the shelf to be lowered.

In order to adjust the spacing between the various shelves B, the lowermost shelf B1 is elevated until all of the plates 20 are telescoped together. Then, starting with the first shelf B at the top, the nuts 35 holding the keepers 26 are loosened and the lowermost shelf BI lowered until the spacing between the upper shelf and the ceiling stop B2 is such as will accommodate the bottle sizes placed on the upper shelf. The keepers on the first level are then tightened. The second level of nuts 35 from the top are then loosened and the carriage of shelves B further lowered until the spacing between the top and second shelf is appropriate for the size of vials, containers or bottles D to be carried on that second shelf. The nuts 35 of the second level are then tightened to position the second level of keepers. The process is continued down the line until the spacing between the lowermost shelf B1 and the next to the bottom shelf is appropriate for its particular size of containers D.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, the adjustment between shelves is substantially infinite and continuous. The spacing between shelves at any particular level can be adapted almost as desired within the limits of total spacing.

When the lowermost shelf B1 is elevated such that all the shelves are telescoped and the upper row of bottle caps are pressed against the ceiling B2, all bottles will be vacuum stoppered.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

What is claimed is:

means for elevating the lowermost shelf such that the caps of the bottles on the shelves successively abut up against the next upper shelves until the uppermost bottle caps are compressed against an upper portion of said housing whereupon all of the caps are sealed upon the respective bottles.

2. The stoppering apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fingers in each successively lower set are longer than those in the next set thereabove.

3. The stoppering apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said guide posts is channel shaped. 

1. Stoppering apparatus for vacuum sealing and capping products within bottles of various sizes comprising an evacuable housing, a plurality of guideposts vertically extending within said housing, a plurality of keeper fingers slidably coupled on each of said posts and horizontally projecting therefrom, means for releasably securing said fingers upon said posts in sets to define a series of continuously adjustable levels which are spaced from each other to accommodate corresponding bottle sizes, a plurality of shelves disposed intermediate said posts and resting upon said respective sets of fingers, and means for elevating the lowermost shelf such that the caps of the bottles on the shelves successively abut up against the next upper shelves until the uppermost bottle caps are compressed against an upper portion of said housing whereupon all of the caps are sealed upon the respective bottles.
 2. The stoppering apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fingers in each successively lower set are longer than those in the next set thereabove.
 3. The stoppering apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said guide posts is channel shaped. 